As if trading up to draft a quarterback who might not play until 2024 was bad enough for the blood pressure of Packers fans, Brian Gutekunst followed up his daring Thursday by drafting his new third-string running back and a fullback/tight end hybrid on Friday.
Good thing the Packers general manager doesn’t check Twitter or watch morning sports talk shows because he is getting eviscerated at every turn.
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“I’ve been in this business long enough,” Gutekunst said late Friday night. “It’s funny, the reaction, especially to the draft and free agency. I saw (former longtime Packers general manager) Ted (Thompson) for years, people were just all over him about the drafts and free agency. Really what matters to me is the team we put out there each fall and how they do. That’s what I’m most concerned with Packers fans approving, not necessarily how we go about getting there.”
Though Green Bay’s two picks Friday might not appear beneficial in the short term, Gutekunst assures they will be. He drafted Boston College bruiser AJ Dillon, a 6-foot, 247-pound running back, at No. 62 in the second round. Then he chose Cincinnati’s Josiah Deguara, a do-it-all fullback/tight end mix, at No. 94 in the third round.
If anything, the Packers made it clear Friday that in 2020, if there is a season, they’ll pound the rock as deep as the grass coating Lambeau Field will allow.
“I think (Packers head coach) Matt (LaFleur) certainly wants to run the ball,” Gutekunst said. “I think he’s talked to you guys repeatedly about how much he’d like to run the ball and have the pass work off of that. I think as we went through, we wanted to have some versatile pieces. Obviously AJ’s a big, bruising back with very, very good speed … Josiah, just the versatility, whether it’s a lead blocker, his ability to create mismatches in the passing game. Matt really wants to tie everything to the run game and off the run game, and these guys will help us do that.”
Dillon joins a running back room already with Aaron Jones, last year’s NFL touchdowns leader, and Jamaal Williams, a thumping No. 2 who tied for a regular-season team-high five touchdown catches last season. LaFleur said at the combine he’d like a third running back to complement Jones and Williams and though Dillon might currently sit behind them on the depth chart, his two superiors are free agents in 2021. This pick is as much about the future as it is the present because, if Jones and/or Williams signs elsewhere next March, Dillon could be the No. 2 or even No. 1 running back in less than a year.
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In three years at Boston College, Dillon ran for an astounding 4,382 yards and 38 touchdowns. At the combine, his 247 pounds lumbered for an impressive 4.53-second 40-yard dash. His 41-inch vertical jump and 131-inch broad jump both ranked first among running backs.
“You don’t hear those numbers come around too often,” said Packers college scout Mike Owen, who likened Dillon’s combine performance to that of Giants running back and 2018 No. 2 overall pick Saquon Barkley. “And now we’ve got AJ Dillon here with impressive numbers, also. It’s just God-gifted ability that blessed them with height, weight, speed and athleticism to do that, you know? A lot of people in America wish they had that kind of traits.”
While our draft expert Dane Brugler forecasted Dillon as a fourth- or fifth-round pick, Gutekunst was surprised Dillon and his eye-popping measurables fell to the late second round. Gutekunst hopes Dillon’s addition strengthens a unit that ranked 15th in the NFL last season with 112.2 rushing yards per game, whether his aid comes via rushing touchdowns or simply relieving those above him on the depth chart in spurts. More times than LaFleur would’ve liked last season, he admitted to abandoning the run in favor of an aerial attack to compensate for deficits. Now he has one more option to turn to for a reminder to stick to the ground.
It will be interesting to see how Jones, Williams and Dillon split snaps in 2020 after a season in which Jones played 61.5 percent of Green Bay’s offensive snaps and Williams 34.6 percent. The Packers drafted running back Dexter Williams in the sixth round last year, but he played less than 1 percent of the offensive snaps in 2019.
For Dillon, who carried 845 times in college, sitting behind Jones and Williams to start will be a welcome reprieve, but not one he necessarily needs.
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“I don’t see any breakdown or anything in his body,” Owen said. “The way his structure is, he’s built to last. He’s gonna carry the load if he can. Our offense, we got a couple of other good running backs, so he might not need to carry the load there, too. He’s got the ability to do both … I think he’ll be a great complement to Aaron Jones and Jamaal. I think that’s a three-headed beast that can come in, take this running game to the next level. You’ve got a nice mixture of running styles. I would say Aaron Jones is more like lightning. You’ve got the thunder right here with AJ Dillon and Jamaal Williams.”
While Dillon might have a more noticeable impact on the Packers’ running game this coming season, Gutekunst views Deguara’s addition of equal importance.
At 6 foot 2 and 242 pounds, he’ll help fill the run-game responsibilities of departed fullback Danny Vitale, whom the Patriots signed in free agency after playing 15.8 percent of the Packers’ offensive snaps last season.
“I think he certainly can do a lot of the things that Danny did last year,” Gutekunst said. “But I think he’s probably a little more versatile than that. Versatile in that, not to compare him to anybody, but I think he’s just one of those guys who will probably be, as he learns it and becomes part of the offense, he’ll be on the field for more snaps than that and just have that kind of versatility.”
Said Deguara of his time at Cincinnati: “There wasn’t a position that I didn’t play on offense. I played a little slot receiver. I played a little in-line tight end. I was off the ball. I was in the backfield. I did a lot of different things and I think that helped me a lot throughout this process and I think it shows my versatility in this game.”
Dillon caught only 21 passes at Boston College and Deguara might end up being used more in the run game than through the air, but both offer reinforcements to the passing game, as well, though they might take time to arrive. LaFleur’s offense, he hopes, will be predicated more on opening up the play-action pass after establishing the ground game as something formidable, something the Packers weren’t always able to do last season.
If Dillon is to truly impact the passing game, he’ll first have to fine-tune his pass protection. Carrying a 247-pound frame and a sturdy base certainly helps.
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“I started to play more and more on third down as is the case with most running backs in college football, the pass protection is one of the harder things to learn,” Dillon said. “I definitely see myself as somebody who can protect the quarterback and understand defensive schemes in a way that will allow the pass game to work. As far as my catching, it wasn’t a lack of ability by any means at BC, more so a lack of opportunity. That wasn’t our offense. We didn’t really throw the ball to the running backs. It was more of a heavy run style. But when I did have those opportunities I made the most of them. At the combine, I ran every route, caught every ball, so it’s definitely something I can do.”
Deguara caught 77 passes for 972 yards and 12 touchdowns in his final two years at Cincinnati. He’s likely more ready to factor in as a pass-catcher alongside tight ends Jace Sternberger and Robert Tonyan than Dillon is with Jones and Williams, who both excelled in that area last season.
As is the case with the Packers’ daunting selection of Jordan Love in the first round, their two latest selections may take time to leave a noticeable mark. Packers fans expect more immediate reverberations from their general manager’s first three picks, especially after Green Bay fell just one game short of a Super Bowl, and they’re certainly letting Gutekunst hear it.
The man in charge isn’t listening, though, sticking to his board and his gut, the most recent pair of offensive additions the latest example, no matter how viciously anyone opposes.
“We wanted to add some offensive weapons and they were the highest-rated guys on our board when it was time to pick,” Gutekunst said. ” … I think obviously, both picks we made today, I really do believe are going to help us in the short term. I’m excited about that.”
(Photo of AJ Dillon: Joe Sargent / Getty Images)
